Promising Findings: The 2001-2004 SACPA Status Report

The 2001-2004 SACPA Status Report was presented to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on May 10, 2005. The report covers the findings from the first three years of implementation for the Substance Abuse Crime Prevention Act (2000) in Sonoma County. Specifically, the report contains information on key events in program implementation, local client demographics compared to statewide data, information and data on the referral process through placement in treatment. In addition, this report contains outcomes on clients who have successfully completed treatment and compares those findings against those who were not successful in completing treatment. The findings are in the areas of social and economic status and criminal justice recidivism measured by time spent in local jail.

Prop. 36 Treatment System Impact Report

National Conference of State Legislatures Report

Summary

Status

Key findings in this report include:

• The demographics of SACPA participants did not change significantly from year to year. The average age of participants was 36 years with a majority being in the age range of 31-45 years old. The majority of participants were consistently male (72%), a higher male population than other studies of criminal justice programs. Over 75% of the participants were Caucasian, with up to 15% of the participants self-declaring their ethnicity as Hispanic/Latino. The most frequently cited drug of choice was methamphetamine (50%), followed by marijuana (36%).

• The local demographics of SACPA participants were strikingly similar to characteristics of SACPA clients statewide.

• SACPA referrals ranged 527 to 646 annually, with 88% of the referrals from the single court.

• Over three years, SACPA managed 1802 referrals with 1428 individuals completing an intake and assessment. Participants who do not complete the intake and assessment process are reported to decline treatment, transfer to another county or another treatment program, or failed to show for appointments.

• SACPA has successfully place 1380 participants into alcohol/drug treatment, the majority (58-66%) placed in outpatient treatment. Statewide, 84.1% were placed in outpatient treatment.

• In Sonoma County, 56% of the participants report to be entering alcohol/drug treatment for the first time, slightly higher than the state's reporting of about half.

• Sonoma County reports 76.6% of SACPA referrals entering treatment compared to 71.4% reported statewide. However, the local data includes those who subsequently refused treatment, whereas the state data excludes this group.

• Over the three years, 361 clients successfully completed treatment on or before July 9, 2004 with 323 (89.5%) of those having their criminal case dismissed by the court. The remaining cases continue to be supervised by the court or Probation.

• The living status and employment status of clients who completed treatment improved from point of intake to point of discharge from treatment. Homelessness decreased from 19% to 2% and full-time employment grew from 43% to 77% for those who successfully completed treatment.

• SACPA clients who successfully completed treatment had a significantly lower number of days spent in jail (907 days) after discharge compared to those individuals who had no SACPA intervention (11,423 days). Furthermore, a greater percentage of those who did not have a SACPA intervention re-entered jail (81%) compared to those who successfully completed treatment (45%).

• Over the three years of implementation the State allocation has dropped slightly from $1,701,268 to $1,687,180. Locally, treatment services have consistently received over 50% of the SACPA funding.

• FY 03-04 marks the third year of a five-year State allocation for the Substance Abuse Crime Prevention Act of 2000.